Who we are - Canadian Forces Housing Agency Annual Report 2018-2019
CFHA proudly delivers Department of National Defence's (DND) military housing program and supporting housing services to CAF members and their families across Canada – which translates into nearly 28,000 occupants that live in our communities.
CFHA is a leader in federal residential housing. We offer a portfolio of RHU as an accommodation option to support CAF members and their families as they frequently relocate across Canada as duty demands, and at times, on short notice.
CFHA continuously modernizes its service delivery. We are focused on mission success, our organizational culture, our processes and our service to customers. We aim to provide the best possible service to our occupants and contribute to their well-being at home. There has been a definitive shift from “what we do” to “why we do it”, with a concentrated effort on the following priorities:
- Provide quality housing that respond to the varied needs of diverse CAF families.
- Provide a positive occupant experience through customer service excellence.
- Contribute to vibrant and supportive communities that enable operational readiness.
- Modernize tools, practices and processes, to maintain the Agency’s journey to continued excellence.
- Develop new relationships with public, private and non-profit organizations in order to improve seamless housing services available to CAF members.
- Promote a respectful workplace where employees are equipped and supported to do their best.
Our dedication goes beyond providing quality services and quality housing, as we are committed to contributing to supportive and dynamic communities. Our neighbourhoods are conveniently located near the workplace and to the support services made available to military families, such as Military Family Resource Centres (MFRC). Many military families choose to live in military housing because it provides them with certainty that their families are safe and secure when the serving member is away from home. CFHA is committed to supporting the CAF’s strong sense of family and community.
We deliver our services through a dedicated workforce whose varied knowledge, skills and abilities contribute to the Agency’s success. CFHA cultivates a diverse, inclusive, agile and healthy organization. A diverse team allows us to optimize varying points of view and solutions in the delivery of the mandate. We are committed to achieving a high standard of service excellence within the Public Service, and we continue to be certified at the Gold level with Excellence Canada. In 2016, the Agency achieved the Canada Award for Excellence, Innovation and Wellness (EIW). The EIW Standard is based on research and knowledge of success factors in the workplace from around the world. It advances excellence in Canadian organizations in all sectors and aligns well with the Treasury Board Management Accountability Framework. The structured and progressive approach to excellence provides CFHA with a strategic umbrella for continuous improvement and connects CFHAs various frameworks and improvement initiatives leading to tangible results for our customers and stakeholders.
Current housing portfolio
11,665 Residential Housing Units
Community revitalization
This year CFHA worked to improve and realign the portfolio to better meet the needs of the CAF, which included the construction of new RHUs in Trenton, Petawawa, Shilo and Moose Jaw. Many of these new RHU were 2-bedroom apartments, to meet the changing needs of CAF families.
In working with partners, CFHA collaborated on significant improvements to base/wing communities through exterior upgrades, increased availability of parking and recreational area improvements. Major projects were implemented in Valcartier, Kingston and Halifax in higher-density neighbourhoods in order to improve traffic and pedestrian flows, reduce congestion, and beautify these areas.
Feature project
In October 2018, CFHA and CFB Petawawa unveiled a new apartment complex providing a modern, eco-friendly accommodation option for CAF members and their families. The new complex serves to meet the needs of occupant demographics in Petawawa and has contributed to revitalizing the community landscape. This was a major step forward in aligning the housing portfolio with the needs of CAF families.
Accessibility and support to CAF families with special needs
CFHA is committed to building and adapting RHUs so that they are inclusive. We invested in accessibility upgrades and modifications to many RHUs, making them barrier-free and accessible. This improves the living conditions and provides support for CAF members and their family members that may have special requirements.
CFHA also increased its level of support to released members and their families, who may face a number of challenges related to transitioning from military to civilian life. In 2018-2019, CFHA aligned policies to extend the length of time that a released member can remain in a RHU in order to provide additional support while they transition to their new civilian life.
Greening initiatives
CFHA is committed to implementing green building principles to ensure the sustainability and resiliency of the housing portfolio. We are increasing the energy efficiency of our RHUs and we use Natural Resources Canada EnerGuide Home Evaluation protocol to assess renovated units. 100% of recapitalized RHUs achieved an EnerGuide energy performance standard, thereby we continue to be on track to meet Target 6 as set out in DEES. In addition, several of our newly constructed buildings have received greening certifications.
Through occupant newsletters we delivered awareness to occupants about best practices for seasonal home maintenance, energy conservation and waste management methods. As a result, our occupants may benefit from lower energy costs.
Emergency After-Hours services
CFHA is ready to respond to unpredictable weather conditions or other emergencies that may affect RHUs at any time of the day or night. Our occupants can reach us through an emergency after-hours response service (EAHRS) (24 hours assistance) line. Last year we received 7,284 calls. Of those, 2,688 calls were deemed emergencies and were actioned immediately. Our occupants know that they can reach us and count on us.
Complaint management process
There were significant efforts made during this past year to improve the intake, management and resolution of customer complaints through the Complaint Resolution Process. Through the creation of a data analytics capability, CFHA developed an innovative tool for the analysis of customer complaints and inquiries, by location and type, in order to assist CFHA management in diagnosing potential systemic issues and in improving quality of services to occupants. In the evaluation of call logs we have seen a decline of 9.3% in complaints and service calls in 2018-2019 versus previous years.
Customer satisfaction with contractor performance
CFHA launched a new program in 2018-2019 for the follow-up and feedback from occupants on contractor timeliness and responsiveness with repairs and maintenance service requests. These evaluations provide CFHA staff with vital input directly from occupants on the performance of contractors that are on-site and in the homes of CAF members, which enables us to improve our front-line services and better serve our occupants.
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